Nobel Peace Prize or The Neutering of Our President?

Whether President Obama deserved the Nobel Peace Prize is not my concern. What concerns me is why he got it. Why did the world decide to bestow this upon our President at such a time as this? The following is what John Pedhoretz of the CONTENTIONS blog with Commentary Magazine had to say on the issue:

I can’t agree with my colleagues here on CONTENTIONS that a) Barack Obama should reject the Nobel Peace Prize or b) be embarrassed by it. The Nobel Committee chose him wisely because he does, in fact, represent the organization’s highest ideals.

He is an American president queasy about the projection of American power. He is an American president who rejects the notion of American exceptionalism. He is an American president eagerly in pursuit of legitimacy to be granted him not by those who voted for him but by those who do not cast a vote and who chafe at American leadership. It is his devout wish that America become one of many nations, influencing the world indirectly or not influencing it at all, rather than “the indispensable nation,” as Madeleine Albright characterized it. He is the encapsulation, the representative, the wish fulfillment, the very embodiment, of the multilateralist impulse. He is, almost literally, a dream come true for the sorts of people who treasure and value the Nobel Peace Prize.

It’s the most obvious choice, once you think about it, since Michael Moore won an Oscar for Bowling for Columbine.

Unfortunately, I think John isn’t too far from the truth. The world does not like the idea of America as the lone superpower. Why is that? It is because a strong America threatens and undermines the many aspirations of tyranny and thuggery around the world. A weak America stands in no one’s way.

John brings up the idea of American exceptionalism. What is American exceptionalism? Is it a nationalist thing similar to the nationalism that arose in Germany under the Third Reich? Is it a dangerous idea and something that should be shunned? The short answer is, “No”.

American exceptionalism recognizes that, in the history of a world dominated by tyranny and oppression, America is the one exception to that rule. While other nations go to war to conquer, we go to war to liberate. When other nations have defeated their enemies, they rape, pillage, plunder and enslave their people and resources. When America defeats her enemies, she rebuilds their cities and lives. America’s military might is unrivalled in history. If she wanted to, she could conquer the world, but she doesn’t want to.

American exceptionalism recognizes that in her short history, the United States has become the most dominant economic power ever and has, in the process, exported economic advancement and opportunity around the world. Our economic system does not take from other nations, but trades with other nations. Our economic system does not redistribute a finite pie, but rather expands the pie with a rising tide that lifts all boats.

American exceptionalism recognizes that Americans, as a people, are no different than anyone else. We are not better human beings. Our DNA is no different. We are not a superior race. In fact, we are not even comprised of a single race but we are a melting pot of all races. How then, in our short history, did we become the most powerful nation both economically and militarily in the history of nations?

It is our founding documents and the ideas behind them that made this possible. The idea of individual liberty and freedom which is endowed by our Creator and which government cannot infringe upon has unleashed the unlimited power and potential of individuals pursuing their dreams and aspirations. That is why America is an exceptional nation; it is because we are free to do be exceptional.

However, this idea of freedom and liberty is a threat to the norm. It is a threat to the tyrannical thugs and dictators that have dominated the history of mankind. It is a threat to those who oppress the individual in order to lift themselves up. It is a threat to evil.

So, the world finally has an American President who agrees with them. He agrees that America should not have such a dominant role. He agrees with them that America is the cause of the world’s problems, not the solution. America and the ideas behind her are standing in the way of tyranny and oppression. If she could just be cut down to size, the dictators of the world would have nothing standing in their way of achieving what they desire. There would be no one to stop them.

The world has sent a message to President Obama. First, they rejected his presentation for Chicago’s Olympic bid. “This isn’t about you”, they said. “It is about what we want.” Then they award him the Nobel Peace Prize. “Don’t even think about upping the ante in Afghanistan. You can’t accept the Nobel Peace Prize and then send more troops to conduct America’s imperialistic war. And while you are at it, continue to placate the Achmadinijads, Hugo Chaves’, Fidel Castros and Kim Jung Ills around the world in the name of peace.”

How can President Obama now take a stand for the American people on anything? Here is a man so consumed by his ego that he will not even consider jeopardizing his reputation as a peace-maker in the eyes of the world leaders he loves so much. Iran is now free to nuke up and go after Israel. North Korea is now free to go after South Korea. Russia is now free to entertain its aspirations for Georgia and the Ukraine. China is now free to finally go after Taiwan. Hugo Chaves is now free to do anything he likes in South America. America will not stand in their way. Her President will not ruin his image as a Nobel Peace Prize winner. President Obama, who only had one ball to begin with, has just been neutered by the world.